Drunk Dial
by paynesgrey
Summary: Will accidentally drunk dials Rachel while she's been drinking too. ONESHOT. Season 2 spoilers. Platonic Rachel x Will.


AN: This is a one-shot and will not be continued. Season 2 spoilers.

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><p><span>Drunk Dial<span>

As much as she hated herself for it, crying over Finn had become an after-school hobby for her. Sometimes Rachel liked to mix things up, like moping, crying and making sad play-lists of him on her iTunes only to furiously delete them later. She'd hole herself up in her dads' basement and sang Ella Fitzgerald songs on her personal stage, sounding awful of course (and thankfully nobody heard her) because of her own sobbing and snotting.

Rachel was also convinced the liquor cabinet was staring at her.

She'd been in so much trouble with her dads that they'd double-locked it since her party, so there was no way of getting in now, but it watched her nonetheless, tempting her, goading her.

"Damn it," she said to herself, throwing down her microphone as tears leaked out again.

She knew somewhere in the basement freezer one of her dads kept a bottle of Rum on ice hidden behind the ice cream. So, down it went.

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><p>Drunk dialing a student was probably the worst thing that Will Schuester did yet. Not that he'd remember it, but if he did, or at least learned of it later, he might hang himself. Or worse, finally quit teaching and Sue Sylvester would have her day of triumph.<p>

"Hello?" He looked at his phone blearily. "Emma?"

"No, Mr. Schue, it's Rachel Berry," she corrected him, and she cried at least a long minute while Will fell into a confused lull.

"Rachel, oh God," he said. "Listen, I'm sorry I called," he blabbered. "Very...inappropriate ...don't mind me. I'll see you later."

"Mr. Schue, do you think I'm pretty?" she whined at him, and her unexpected question made him freeze with fear. "I know I'm not as pretty as Quinn, but I'm talented, and even though I can be intense, you think I'm a good person, right?" She sniffled.

"Rachel, have you been drinking?" Not that he could talk.

"Yes," she squeaked, sobbing again.

"Oh, well, you probably shouldn't do that at your age. I should go now," Will said. Fear was possibly sobering him up, even though the drunkard in him didn't want to put the phone down. It was nice having someone to talk to, and better that it was Rachel by accident than Emma. Or worse, Sue.

"Wait, don't, just...I'm sorry I was drinking, Mr. Schue, but just talk to me a little longer or..." She hiccupped. "I'll quit the Glee club!"

"What? Hey, hey, I'm here, Rachel." He turned his head away when he could fight back a burp. "You can talk to me," he said sleepily, resting his chin on his hand. "You don't ...have to quit."

"Mr. Schue, I shouldn't be in Glee anymore, not if Quinn and Finn are going to do duets. It kills me every time I see them together. Do you know how hard that is for me?"

"I know, I know," he slurred.

"I don't think you do," she cried again.

"Listen, Rachel, if I had to choose...between you and Finn on the team," he stammered. "I'd choose you in a flash. No question."

"Really?" she asked, and he heard her hiccup again.

"Yes, just stop crying and stop drinking," he said. "I'll see you Monday."

"Alright. You too, Mr. Schue, and you shouldn't be drinking either," she said, surprising him. He thought he'd played off his state, but Rachel picked it up anyway.

"As long as you don't tell Sue or Emma," he said, hoping to save himself.

"I won't, and you can't tell Finn," she said, her voice still wavering.

"Never," he said, and she hung up. He stared at his phone for a few seconds, released a sigh of gigantic relief, and his head _thunked_ onto the kitchen table, promptly knocking him to sleep.

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><p>Meekly, Rachel poked her head into his office that Monday morning, and he already knew why she was here. His memory was fuzzy, and though he would love to forget it, he certainly drunk dialed Rachel that night, and he was already fearful of what might happen if it leaked to the whole school.<p>

"Mr. Schue..." She came in his office and closed the door. "I'm sorry about what happened the other night," she said in a low whisper.

Will shook his head. "I'm the one who should be sorry. It's my fault. I called you."

"If it's okay with you, I'd rather forget about it," she said sheepishly. "I was a mess that night. Well, every night has been pretty much like that."

"Rachel, I'm the one who should have the bad nights, not you. You're young, and I know about your feelings toward Finn but...I hope you don't think there's nothing better out there for you. You have so much talent, and there are so many people in the world just waiting to adore you," he said, coming around his desk toward her. "I just really hate that you're going through this."

She nodded, tearing away from his gaze. "I know. I'm just trying to get over things right now. I promise, I'm strong, Mr. Schue. It's not easy. The pain doesn't just go away," she said.

"Well, if you ever need to talk, either to me or Ms. Pillsbury..."

"No, it's okay." She nodded with a light smile. "I shouldn't have talked to you that night, but...I really needed to."

He squeezed her shoulder and dropped his hand. "I promise I won't call you like that again, Rachel," Will said, and she nodded.

"You know, you really don't need to drink that much either," Rachel said, cocking her head to the side. "As long as we're being fair."

He frowned, grateful for her observation, but Will didn't know if he could truly believe it. He watched her leave, and she stopped at the frame of his door. She turned around to add, "I mean it, Mr. Schue. There's more out there for you too."

When she left, her words lingered in his thoughts, surprisingly putting him at ease. Maybe drunk dialing Rachel that night hadn't been a mistake after all.

END


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